Lost And Found, Forgotten And Remembered
by HeartMadeFullmetal
Summary: "Lia's appearance was ragged. You'd think she'd gone insane, if not for the look in her eyes. They were fierce, unreadable, a serious shade of sapphire blue, with a look of pain, loss and anger." DISCONTINUED If somebody wants to adopt, sure, just let me know. I'd like to know how it ends up.
1. A Fateful Reunion

Lia was lost and losing her mind. She didn't recognize where she was. She was so disoriented that even if she was home, she wouldn't be able to recognize it. Her hair was matted with dirt and tangled. Her face was caked in dirt from the many times she'd tripped. Her clothes were torn in many places, with some of the rips stained with blood. You'd think she had gone insane, if not for the look in her eyes. They were fierce, unreadable, a serious shade of sapphire blue, with a look of pain and loss and anger. It had been ten years since she last saw her family. She had run away. Whenever Lia thought about the mother and father she didn't have, the look in her eyes simply hardened. It was during these times that Lia tried to remember what happened when she had been five years old. No matter how much she tried, she just couldn't. She couldn't even remember who had looked after her, if not her parents. Or if she had any friends.

She sat in a crouching position with her arms wrapped around her legs. She put her head between her knees and began to cry. Her tears weren't from sadness; they weren't from not being able to remember past fifteen years ago. . .she wasn't sure why she was crying. She tried to think of what some good advice was. 'If you can't figure it out, try looking at it from a different angle.' Okay. She was a lost, insane, fifteen year-old girl, trying to remember her past. She thought hard. She was a tragic, scared young woman who was trying to find her way home. Not much difference.

"Fat lot of good _that_ does," she cried.

"Fat lot of good _what_ does?" a male voice asked her. Lia looked up, startled. There was a boy standing there. He'd lowered himself down so he could look her in the eye. "Sorry I scared you."

"Don't be." Lia said.

"Fat lot of good _what _does?" he repeated.

"The advice, 'If you can't figure it out, try looking at it from a different angle.' I tried, and there was no difference!" Lia moaned.

"Oh." the boy said. He looked sympathetic.

"What's your name?" the boy asked. Lia didn't like giving her name out to strangers, so she used the name she had created.

"Kate Laurel."

"Mine's Jay Belleron. If you don't have a place to stay for the night, you can stay at my house." Jay said. "And don't say you have a place to stay. You wouldn't look like you do if you did."

"You're right. I don't have a place to stay. And I haven't for a long time. You're serious about letting me stay?"

"Yes."

"Then I'd like a roof over my head for once. Honestly, I've forgotten what it's like to sleep in a house."

Jay helped Kate up. As he led her to his house, he couldn't help but think of his childhood friend. How they had always played together, never taking anything seriously, playing tricks on passersby. Those were the good days, Jay thought. Until the day she went missing. Everybody assumed she had died. But Jay believed she was still out there. All he remembered about her was the warm smile she gave him whenever he made her laugh. Of course, thinking about her now only made Jay sad. Kate looked at his face.

"What's wrong?" she asked him with a worried frown. Jay sighed.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just thinking about an old friend."

"You're lucky. You can remember an old friend. I don't even know if I had any friends when I was little."

"You shouldn't call me lucky. I don't even know whether she's alive or not. She's been missing for a long time."

"Oh. Sorry."

"No, it's okay. I bet she's out there somewhere. Everybody in my town thinks she died. Even my mom. But not me." Jay said, going up to a house. He went inside. "Would you mind waiting here?"

"I'm fine." Kate said. Jay went to his mom, Ilia.

"Hey, mom. I met somebody in the forest. She says she doesn't have a place to stay for the night. I kinda told her she could stay here, if she wanted to, and she said she'd like to."

"It's alright, Jay. After all, we've got enough room for a guest. Who is she?"

"She says her name is Kate Laurel."

"Shouldn't you invite her in?" Ilia said with a smile.

"Alright, mom. I will." Jay went back to Kate. "Come on in," he said. The moment she saw Kate, Ilia turned pale. "What's wrong, mom?" But Ilia seemed unable to speak for a few seconds. Instead, Ilia went over to Kate and gave her a hug. Kate just stood there, her face expressionless.

"You're back," Ilia whispered in her ear. "Lia Tasogare."


	2. When Lia Comes Marching Home

"WHAT?" Jay practically yelled. "She's_Lia, is that what you're saying? And_you didn't think she had died? Why did you lie to me, mom?" he said, pacing and sighing with exasperation.

"Because you didn't have to know why she'd left. She'd run away."

"Why'd she run away?"

"Because she believed that she was saving your life in doing so."

"Why?"

"Somebody had told her she would have killed you, should she be near you any longer."

"Yes," Lia said quietly. "I remember now. It was when we were little. That woman had called me over when we were playing. You waited for me out of hearing range, and when I got back, I told you she had told me that we would be friends forever. Maybe more than friends at some point. But with each other always. I didn't want you to worry. I wanted to protect you. She had told me that if I was around you, one day I would kill you. I was so scared. I didn't know what to do, so that night, I left. Without a single goodbye, without leaving a note. I didn't take anything with me. I left without a trace. I'm so sorry, Jay." she said, her tears streaking down her face. As she continued to talk, her crying became worse. "I was just so scared! I didn't – know – what to do, and – I didn't – I didn't want you – to die! I left, I ran away – because I was so – I was so scared! I just- " Lia cried. Jay cut her off when he hugged her. She cried into his shoulder.

"Shh. It's okay. I'm just glad you're safe." Jay said softly. Lia went on crying for a while. After about a half an hour, Lia sniffed and lifted her head.

"I think I should go tell my parents I'm okay." Lia said. She got up. "Bye, Jay." She went outside.

Lia ran through Hyrule Field. It was sunset, and she was almost to Castle Town.

"Damn, Hyrule Field is bigger than I remembered!" she said. When she got to Castle Town, she stopped to catch her breath. She then continued at a walk, and then went to Hyrule Castle.

When she got to the big double doors, the two guards were asleep. Careful not to wake them, she slipped through the crack in the doors.

Lia was uneasy about going right to the castle: nobody but her parents would believe that she was Lia. So instead, Lia decided to go to the horses' stables. Inside, all but one horse was asleep. All but one stable door was closed. Out of curiosity, Lia went in to the aforementioned stable. She very vaguely recognized the horse she was looking at, but by now, Lia was half asleep. The horse laid down. When Lia didn't react, the horse pulled Lia by her clothes onto its side.

"_Sleep,_" she could almost hear it saying. "_You look like you need rest. Go on, sleep._"

"Mm-hm." Lia barely mumbled. Each time she blinked, her eyelids got heavier until eventually, they were too heavy to open again.

The next time Lia woke up, she heard voices. Or, really, _a_ voice and the horse neighing.

"C'mon, Epona, you're being ridiculous." a man's voice said. The horse, Epona, whinnied.

"I can see she's asleep, can I at least see if I know her?" the voice said. Epona hesitated before doing anything, then moved slightly so Lia was visible. She heard footsteps come toward her, then the straw on the ground rustled slightly as if someone was sitting down. Lia didn't recognize the man's voice, but she was very curious, so she just barely opened one eye to look at him. As soon as Lia caught a glimpse of him, her eyes flew open and she gave him a hug.

"I'm home," Lia said. "I'm okay. It's me, Lia, papa." she said.


End file.
